Deliberate

West's Encyclopedia of American Law
COPYRIGHT 2005 The Gale Group, Inc.

DELIBERATE

Willful; purposeful; determined after thoughtful evaluation of all relevant factors; dispassionate. To act with a particular intent, which is derived from a careful consideration of factors that influence the choice to be made.

When used to describe a crime, deliberate denotes that the perpetrator has weighed the motives for the conduct against its consequences and the criminal character of the conduct before deciding to act in such a manner. A deliberate person does not act rashly or suddenly but with a preconceived intention.

Deliberate is synonymous with premeditated.

Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.